The Rumble of Silence
by Kayah371
Summary: INFINITY WAR SPOILERS With half of the universe evaporated Earth's mightiest heroes must shake off the dust, regroup and avenge their friends - in other words: my take on Avengers 4.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So this my take on what might happen in the Avengers 4. I want to explore theories that I find most interesting and have some fun with writing this fic. I hope you like it.**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

Nebula's eyes were focused on the man curled on the ground, a pathetic little creature that resembled nothing more than the failure weighting on her shoulders. Her hands were clenched into fists as her focus shifted to the filthy land that had given life to Thanos.

She almost wished she could vanish along with half of the universe just so she didn't have to deal with all the emotions overriding her being. Nebula had a hard time imagining what they could possibly do to reverse everything – or at least make things better but the anger running through her was enough to give her a motivation to form any kind of plan – even seemingly impossible.

She wanted to treat her so called _father_ the way she had been treated by him so many times, but while his torments had always been subtle and mostly demonstrated by silence, she wanted to do the opposite. She wanted to unleash her rage, punch, kick and stab with all she had, no matter how fruitless it would turn out to be.

Nebula needed to get back to their ship, figure out a plan and execute it in the cruelest way she could find. But as she was about to walk away her eyes once again landed on the man. The man who was just staring straight ahead and mumbling something to himself.

She didn't even know him and she didn't care to remember his name. There was no reason for Nebula not to leave him on the Titan and set out on her own, the way she liked it best. But they had one thing in common that she just couldn't ignore.

He had lost someone, just like Nebula. Watching the boy evaporate in his arms had stirred some nonexistent part of her that she would never acknowledge. "Get off the ground." Nebula said at last, her eyes lingering on the almost completely still figure.

But he wouldn't flinch, wouldn't even meet her eyes. He would be of no use, Nebula concluded. That wasn't a great loss, she could surely handle the situation on her own if she focused hard enough. "Get up." She repeated nonetheless hoping to get any kind of response out of him.

But it was to no avail. He was in his own world, probably far away from her and Titan.

Which left Nebula with a choice that was in reality far too easy to make. This man wasn't her responsibility and in his current state he wouldn't be any help at all.

It wasn't in Nebula's nature to help him.

And yet, she found herself unable to make her feet move towards the ship. The whole universe was different, the laws had changed and maybe, just maybe saving the man was the way to go. Just because it was completely against what Nebula believed in.

Without any more attempts to talk sense into him, she grabbed his shirt and started dragging his body across the ground. "Fear not, I will make him pain for everything he had done to us…to _me_." She said confidently despite the fact that the man was clearly not listening to her banter. "And you will get the revenge for your boy, at least." The last two words were softer.

Because what if revenge was all they had left?

* * *

Bruce's chest kept falling and raising steadily - a perfect lullaby for a restless heart. And yet, Natasha's eyes were wide open as she tried to listen to the deafening sound of their jet flying through air. But she couldn't even focus on that. The sounds of their battle were still echoing in her mind.

Natasha wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and get lost in dreams, even the worst of nightmares but she couldn't let herself close her eyes. Because each time she did so a clear picture would appear in her mind. A picture so painful that she wanted to spare herself from it.

As silently as she could Natasha untangled herself from Bruce's arms and raised from the floor. Looking down at his strained face – even during sleep she couldn't help but be thankful that at least he was still there. Even if he hadn't been there for them for so long.

She walked carefully through the jet, wary of sleeping people and surely she found Steve with his hands gripping firmly the rudder and eyes focused on the dark sky ahead. Natasha wished she could say something reassuring but she wasn't very good at that, so she just stood in the cabin for some time, silently, hoping that her mere presence was making a difference.

"You should get some sleep." She spoke up finally, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to prevent it. "Turn on the autopilot and come."

Steve titled his head slightly, just enough to lock his gaze with Natasha's. "I'm fine. I need to…think." He said slowly, as if weighting every word. As if with each spoken sentence he was getting weaker and weaker and closer to a mental breakdown.

He would never admit that he was weak just like them though. As long as the universe was in crisis he would clench his teeth and push through it without manifesting his feelings to the outside world. At least it had been this way ever since his _argument_ with Tony Stark along with the rest of the country he had sacrificed himself for.

Even after nearly two years of him being this way Natasha still couldn't get used to seeing him just as a shadow of his former self. The longer hair and beard were clearly just a camouflage, a way to mask his facial expressions as best as he could in case he would accidentally show something he didn't want anyone to know.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Natasha asked despite knowing full well the answer she was going to get.

"No, I need to check if the rest of the world…if they don't need help." Steve said calmly.

"Okay." Natasha said nodding her head even though they both knew that they couldn't help anyone in any way.

* * *

The sky looked much different from what Thor could remember. Despite all the galaxies remaining in the same exact places there was one small light that wasn't there anymore no matter how hard Thor searched for it.

Asgard along with its people was gone. All his friends and family – forever gracing the halls of Hel. He was truly alone in the universe that was now far too damaged to offer Thor anything that would heal him.

All that was left was a sea of anger and a burning desire to avenge his people – and Loki. Thanos had first taken his mind but then he came back for his soul and the souls of many others. It was all happening so fast that the moment Thor stopped fighting back, the moment he realized they had lost possibly everything that there could ever be to lose, something inside of him broke and he found himself with no purpose.

So he refused Steve's offer to go back with them to their hiding spot, nor he set out for his own journey into the cosmos. No, he stayed in Wakanda and stared at the sky hoping that one day his Stormbreaker will cut Thanos' head in half and he will squish his still beating heart. Just as the giant had done to him.


	2. Chapter 1: Surviving

„… _Mr. president still remains silent and refuses to comment…"_

"… _today we honor the_ _ **3,9 billion**_ _victims..."_

"… _the economy is still suffering, it will take decades to rebuild all the nations…but we're surviving…"_

"… _maybe at least we're finally learning to appreciate each other…"_

"… _various religious groups have gathered today expecting another_ _ **purge**_ _to occur…"_

" _ **The event**_ _has shown us just how powerless human race is compared to the rest of the universe. We can see now, more clearly than ever, that in the grand scheme of things we are only passive observes. We can only hope and pray that in the future someone stronger will shield us from such tragedies. And here comes my biggest question that the entire Earth will keep on asking…"_

"… _Tony Stark, where are you…?"_

"… _Cap?"_

* * *

"…and how does that make you feel?" The woman's small eyes were hidden behind thick glasses as she stared at her notes instead of meeting Tony's gaze.

Tony blinked a few times, leaned forward and raised his eyebrows at the absurdity of the therapist's question. "And how am I supposed to feel after my fiancée's death?" He asked, the image of Pepper's face clouding his mind. He pushed it away though and focused on the task at hand – doing his best to make the poor woman feel like he was a lost case. Maybe then she would leave him alone.

Jane Miller finally looked up from her notes and her features softened. "Mr. Stark…can I just call you Tony?" She asked softly.

"No, I'd like to keep things as formal as possible." Tony said leaning his back against the sofa cushions. He grabbed a glass of water from the coffee table between them and eyed the transparent content with disgust. "Do you know what would make this conversation a bit more…on basis of merit? Scotch or whiskey. Do you have any?"

"Mr. Stark…" Jane started, her jaw visibly clenching even though she was clearly doing her best to stay composed. "We all lost our loved ones during the _event_ but as much as we wish we could ignore it…this is not the way to deal with our loss and painful emotions."

The rest of their conversation looked quite similar. Each attempt to make Tony open up was met with a sarcastic remark or straight up rudeness. When the obligatory hour was up without as much as sparing Jane a glance, Tony grabbed his jacket, put on his sunglasses and left the office.

Outside, stuffing his face with candy and reading a magazine was Happy, obviously waiting for him. Tony walked past him, hoping against hope that his friend wouldn't follow him. But surely as soon as Tony was outside Happy was catching up with him, whizzing and struggling to catch his breath. "…So?...H-how was it?" He asked between breaths.

"Fantastic. All of my issues have been resolved." Tony said not bothering to slow down his walk.

"Tony…"

"I did what you asked me to do. You should feel satisfaction."

"You know this is not about me." Happy said managing to rest his hand on his friend's back. Tony, however, quickly shook it off and quickened his pace.

"You know what would make me feel better? Caffeine." Tony said in a dismissive manner. He couldn't deal with other people's concerns about his well being. Not now. Not ever. "So shoo. Go to Starbacks and bring me something that will get me back on my feet."

"But Tony-"

"No." The businessman said raising his voice slightly, just enough to show Happy that arguing with him any further would be fruitless.

Happy looked as if he wanted to say something else but eventually he just nodded his head and left to fulfill Tony's request. He was back a few minutes later with a cup of steaming coffee. Tony basically snatched it from Happy's hands, happy to have his hands occupied with something.

"You want me to go home with you? Do something?" Happy asked, his former grumpiness replaced completely with concern that Tony despised so much.

"I'd like to remind you that you're still my worker and you have your job to do. I've actually checked it recently and you're falling behind." Tony remarked taking a sip of his coffee, gladly welcoming the bitter taste on his tongue. "And I have a meeting to attend."

"Are you sure you-"

"Stop right there." Tony finally made an attempt to look at his friend. "I'm not a child. And you're not my mother. I can take care of myself. If I start needing someone to change my diaper I'll give you a call." Without waiting for a response from Happy, Tony unlocked his car and got in.

He glanced at his friend who looked even more worried than before and started the engine. "Chop, chop, Happy. Time's money after all."

"Tony..."

But Tony was already off driving through the city and trying not to notice how even after so much time everything still seemed unfamiliar and different. Even though the streets were still busy they were noticeably less crowded. It seemed like something was very wrong. And it _was_ but it had become a reality that they had to deal with.

When Tony got home he still had a few hours to spare before the meeting. But as soon as he stepped into the house, cold and empty he realized that he couldn't stay there. His shoes echoed as he walked towards the fridge, which unsurprisingly was empty.

He stood there for a few second but the silence was too much to bare. So he quickly grabbed his phone and said. "Call Anne." And soon he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

" _Mr. Stark?_ "

"Cancel the meeting. And if anybody wants to talk to me tell them I'm busy. Or make something up. I don't care."

" _But sir, I don't think it is possible. Mrs. Anderson is on her way from London. I can't just-"_

"Cancel it." Tony said firmly knowing that she would have to oblige.

Anne was silent for a moment but eventually she gave up. " _Oh…alright. Should I reschedule it for tomorrow then?_ "

"No, I will take care of it later."

" _Okay, then. Have a good evening, Mr. Stark._ "

Tony disconnected the call and instantly left the house aiming back for his car. He knew the road by then like the back of his hand and he didn't have to focus on driving anymore which left his mind to wander freely. He turned on the radio, turned up the volume and tried to focus on the lyrics of some stupid song but there was no use.

So he sped up and soon but still not soon enough Tony parked his car in front of a familiar skyscraper and walked inside with his hands shaking in anticipation of what was about to come. The club was as empty as usual and the bartender visibly saddened seeing his regular customer again. But Tony was far from caring.

He sat down on the stool, put his cell phone on the counter and pushed it towards the bartender. "Charge as much as you want as long as my glass stays full."

"If that's what you want." He said while filling Tony's glass with a golden liquid.

The first dose hadn't done much. He still felt as numb as before but the second one managed to break the armor around his mind a little. The next few glasses did the trick and soon the memories started flooding in like they always did.

"… _Mr. Stark, please…"_

He could feel the tears somewhere in the corners of his eyes but he managed to hold them in.

"… _please, I don't wanna go…"_

The realization that he had failed him would hit him every single day, every single night, every single evening and morning. He could still remember Peter's frightened eyes and child-like fear. In that moment he had looked like a child he should have been treated as all along.

" _I'm sorry."_

At times he could still feel the boy's disintegrating body in his arms and that was the worst of it. Peter represented everything that he had lost, everyone he had failed and everything he would now never get to experience.

Even though he had mourned Pepper and still missed her it was Peter's face that kept haunting him every damn day. And every damn day whiskey was the only solution he could find.

* * *

"…Happy? Yeah, it's James from the club again…Yeah, you should come pick him up. He's passed out."

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing. I'm a bit blown away by the response to honest. You guys are great! I'll try to make the next chapters longer.**


	3. Chapter 2: Across the Galaxy

**A/N: Unfortunately I don't read comics so the planet is made up. By me.**

* * *

A small figure with their face covered by a black cloth caught Rocket's attention. He flicked off his gun and slowly approached the masked creature glancing briefly at Nebula. She nodded her head slightly indicating that she would keep watching over the long line of people, while he took care of a possible trespasser.

"Hey, you." He began hoping to resolve this quickly. "The line's _that_ way." He said nodding towards hundreds of people standing in the line and waiting to cross the border."You know…we could talk this over…maybe you have something valuable that you could… _gift_ me in exchange for crossing the border a bit sooner than the rest."

But the mysterious creature ignored his words and kept pushing forward. "Not so fast." Rocket grabbed their wrist, turned them around to face him and snatched away the black cloth. It revealed a smooth pink face, huge round eyes and a look way to familiar to simply walk by.

"I'm looking for my mother." The young girl said simply, her enormous eyes filling with tears. "She's…nowhere to be found…I've been searching everywhere all this time…so she must be _there_."

The raccoon felt frozen in place, his mind filling with memories that he couldn't let himself relive. He closed his eyes for just a second but when he reopened them the girl was already back on her way. There was no chance she would cross the border as she would most likely be shot under the best circumstances, so Rocket quickly caught up with her. "Hey, you need to turn back. Stand in the line with the rest or else they will turn you around and it won't be that pleasant." He reasoned.

But as soon as the girl turned her face towards him and the raccoon noticed milky white tears streaming down her face, he already knew exactly why she couldn't cross the border like there rest of the people. He grabbed her hand once again, looked at the inside of her arm and surely he found a star-shaped mark. " _Please…"_ The girl begged, her voice cracking. "…just let me pass…"

Rocket knew she wouldn't find her mother across the border. He knew exactly where the woman was, and the girl had to know as well – judging by the hopeless look on her face, but apparently hope was the last thing she could hold on to.

He wasn't the one to go easy on people but this one little girl – the huge expressive eyes reminded him so much of the person he had lost that he found himself unable to openly ask the girl to leave unless she wanted to be killed.

Rocket stood there, wondering what to do but before he could make the decision Nebula came out of nowhere and pushed him aside. Then she grabbed the girl's clothes and started pulling her away from Rocket and from the border. "If you come here ever again I will let them kill you – or I will do it myself." Nebula threatened harshly pushing her away.

The girl seemed terrified by the blue alien as her body shook and her eyes became even rounder. She slowly walked away while occasionally turning her head to look longingly at the border and in that moment the raccoon knew she would in fact come back sooner or later. There was no force in this universe that would stop her.

"Your behavior is unacceptable." Nebula said walking past Rocket. Her voice lacked emotions but it still felt like one wrong word would make her kill Rocket. "Pull yourself together or next time they will kill _you_."

"Not that you would care." Rocket said getting tired of Nebula's unbearable attitude.

Nebula didn't say anything to that, just returned to watching over the line. Her face remained cold and unreadable making Rocket unable to tell if she was affected by her sister's death to the point of being numb to the rest of the world or if she was just that indifferent.

Rocket wished he could be like that, he wished he could shield himself behind harshness and sarcasm like he used to in the past but more often than not he was too emotionally exhausted to hide just how weak and broken he truly was.

So he just tightened his hold on the gun and joined Nebula in guarding the border.

* * *

She had been trying to come up with the perfect plan for nearly a year and yet all of her attempts seemed to be pointless. She had no idea where Thanos could be, but even if she did know that knowledge would be of no use. How was she supposed to beat someone like him? She didn't have the means to do so.

It felt like she was just an useless combination of metal parts while he held the power of the entire universe in one hand. No weapon could defeat him, no deception could trick him. For the first time in her life Nebula felt truly powerless. Faced with her _father_ she would try everything, even killing him with her bare hands but that would probably just amuse him.

She had been searching through the universe hoping to come across something or someone that would provide her the answer, a perfect solution that would give her back the only thing she held dear to her heart.

Nebula sat on the floor of the ship that wasn't even her own, honing her favorite knife and wondering if maybe this was just the way her life worked. Maybe she wasn't meant to have anyone in her life that she would care about. The first time she had come to terms with being capable of _feeling_ anything other than anger and pain had probably been also the last.

"… _Milano?"_

"We're here." Nebula answered grabbing the communicator and turning on the microphone.

" _There is a suspicion of a trespasser in sector 9._ "

"We're on our way." Nebula responded before grabbing her gun and loading it. She was ready to wake the raccoon up but then she started wondering if that was really the best idea. What if it was that girl again? She didn't want deal with the trespasser _and_ him.

But then, she thought, it could also be something more dangerous and as much as she wanted to believe that she was strong enough to take on anybody, she didn't want to risk dying while there still was a glint of hope somewhere in the back of her mind that she would one day fight Thanos.

So she walked into the part of the ship where Rocket usually resided and kicked his sleeping body. "Wake up." She demanded. "We've got a job to do."

"What the hell again?" He asked, clearly not happy about being woken up in the middle of the night. "What job?"

"Someone apparently wants to cross the border again. Remember that if we fail the queen will personally cut our heads off." As soon as the words left her mouth she could see the realization hitting Rocket. "Which means that the fact that it might be that girl again shouldn't affect you."

"You really don't have to remind me of that." He said raising himself from the ground. He grabbed his own gun and knife before meeting Nebula's gaze. "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself."

"Let's just do it." Nebula said as they headed for the exit.

The sky during Gaazoor's nights was bright red, to the point of nearly everything being perfectly visible. Despite that the Gaazoorians still wouldn't leave their houses after the sunset in fear of their bodies being taken over by evil spirits.

On Gaazoor everything was always blamed on supernatural entities, even seemingly insignificant star-shaped marks on people's skin. This was why they needed guards from outside their planet to watch over the border they had made for nothing more than creating even more chaos.

Of course the concept of someone wiping out half of their planet with just the snap of their fingers was ludicrous to them and they would just shake their heads at the mention of someone like Thanos. It angered Nebula since her whole existence was revolving around killing her surrogate father and their ignorance was something she couldn't understand.

"That's them." Nebula said noticing a grim silhouette in the distance. She checked if her gun was loaded once more and aimed it at the figure.

Rocket looked up at her. "Should we like…talk to them first? And _then_ shoot? You know…maybe we could negotiate…they may have some nice things to exchange for their life."

Nebula didn't even bother answering and instead shot twice, certain that she wouldn't miss. And indeed, the paralyzing electric charge hit the target but the person didn't seem to be affected at all. "What…" Nebula mumbled angrily shooting again. But once again the person kept approaching.

"What is this…" Rocket wondered shooting as well. Still nothing.

Nebula let her gun fall to the ground and instead grabbed a more fatal weapon. She loaded her other gun, struggling to find the small blue marbles that exploded in contact with organic matter.

But just as the first bullet hit the stranger, the figure's feet disconnect from the ground and they hovered a few feet above them. Nebula wasn't the one to give up so easily though. "Identify yourself." She yelled still aiming at the person.

"Maybe…maybe it would be wiser to actually run." Rocket said, clearly giving up on trying to arrest the trespasser.

" _I_ don't run." Nebula stated firmly with her hands gripping her gun strongly. She kept aiming at her target even as the figure kept approaching them.

The stranger gracefully landed on the ground, almost directly in front of them. And as Nebula's eyes recognized the features she hadn't seen in a while, she frowned. "My name is Carol Danvers."

* * *

 **A/N: I really hope Rocket doesn't seem too OOC - I mean I know he does but this is how I think he would react after losing both Groot and his friends that were probably more like a family to him and having to deal with Nebula for such a long time.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Saddest of Smiles

On the spur of the moment Natasha grabbed a chocolate bar from the counter and handed it over to the cashier. "That will be 3,99." An older woman said in a boring voice not even meeting her customer's eyes. That didn't bother Natasha though. She just put on the counter a five dollar bill and left, not wasting her time to wait for the change.

Natasha had never thought she would retire from her job so early – from working alongside her friends and fighting for Earth or helping Nick Fury and the country. Maybe she wasn't so young anymore but the desire to fight for justice was still there. And yet she had been living like this for three years. Three years spent on underwhelming day to day life.

She was doing her best not to think too much about the _event_. The confidence that there was still something they could do to reverse the catastrophe or at the very least avenge the fallen was gone. As strong as they were, she and Steve were still only humans, no matter how strong Captain America actually was. It was more clear than ever that there were things much greater than them, beyond their understanding.

Natasha walked through the small city – now resembling a town of ghosts and consisting only of heartbroken people. And the heartbreak was so great that she could feel the pain in the air, tangling them up in its tentacles and stabbing them with thorns.

The whole world had shifted and yet not much had really changed. People still fought, still _loved_ and horrible reality TV shows were still being made. But as much as people wanted to forget it and somehow, against all odds, move on with their lives, the horrible truth still wanted to be remembered and analyzed during sleepless nights.

Natasha finally approached a way too familiar block of flats, buzzed herself in, and walked up a few flights of stairs. The apartment was small and simple, without unnecessary decorations that would make the place more cozy or pleasant to live in but it still had managed to be something vaguely resembling a home.

Steve was in the kitchen, as per usual, with his eyes glued to the computer screen. "Hey." Natasha greeted him looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. "Don't read this." She said sadly seeing as he was once again reading news articles about how much the world was struggling and continuously mourning the victims of the e _vent_. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I don't know." He admitted lifting his gaze to look at the former spy. "They keep wondering where Captain America is…what if…"

Natasha leaned against the cupboards crossing her arms over her chest. "And what would you do? There's _nothing_ we could possibly do to change anything. Stark won't talk to us. There's neither SHIELD nor any other organization that would help us. The world is not focused on beating up Thanos, Steve. The world just wants to keep surviving as best as it can."

Steve stood up from his chair and closed the laptop before his gaze landed back on Natasha. "I've always been an inspiration…and now…here…who am I supposed to inspire if I can't even do anything? If there is no one to inspire..."

Natasha shrugged breaking the eye-contact. "In some situations we have to accept that we are powerless." She hated admitting that but she needed to make that as clear as possible. Steve would have to understand that eventually no matter how much it pained him.

"Then what _are_ we supposed to do?" Steve's voice was calm and quiet but Natasha could feel the desperation and hopelessness radiating from him. He was just a shadow of his former self and she hated seeing him like this. He longed to take action into his own hands and understanding that there were things beyond him was not easy on him.

"We could just try to move on." Natasha replied hesitantly knowing how ridiculous she sounded. No one could move from this. Ever.

"I'm going for a run." Steve said already walking towards the door. As soon as he was gone Natasha sat down and opened the laptop herself, reading the very same articles she had advised Steve not to.

* * *

As soon as Natasha's eyes opened she knew something strange was happening. The floor was trembling and panicked yells were coming from outside. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her gun from under the pillow and carefully moved towards the window.

She peeked outside and surely a bright light in the distance made her squint her eyes. "What is this?" She heard Steve's voice as the man stormed into the room and stood next to Natasha.

"I'm not sure." The woman said loading her gun. "It's approaching. We should check it out."

"Stay here." Steve said firmly.

Natasha smirked. "Yeah, right."

Although the situation looked serious Natasha noticed a shadow of a smile on his friend's face. They both couldn't deny that they needed a thrill in their lives every once in a while to stay sane. Natasha quickly put on some clothes and they left their apartment, struggling to get outside as soon as possible.

Just as they exited the building the ground beneath their feet shook and smoke appeared in the distance. The previous excitement vanished and Natasha realized that something was very wrong. She hoped that nothing as serious as last year was happening but if it _was_ then there would be nothing for them to do about it. Despite that they needed to see what had happened and at least try to fight the possible danger.

She locked her gaze with Steve's and he nodded his head as they started walking down the street. People around them were looking through windows – either whispering to each other or crying. "Let's go." Steve urged as he got on his motorcycle. Natasha sat behind him and wrapped one of her arms loosely around his waist while gripping her gun tightly with her free hand.

As Steve started the engine she looked at the block of flats that had been a home for them for the past three years and wondered if they would ever see it again. Maybe this was it for them. Maybe it all had been their prolonged death and now everything was finally concluding. "It looks like some kind of aircraft." Steve said pulling Natasha out of her grim thoughts. "…or a spaceship." He added after a moment.

"Not again." She said tiredly but kept looking forward, determined to stay focused. The woman could already hear sirens in the distance but she hoped that the two of them would arrive there sooner.

When Steve's motorcycle came to a halt the air was clouded by smoke while what was now clearly an alien spaceship was crashedbetween the trees. Natasha had no idea what it was all about but despite their lack of knowledge they pushed forward. "It's not going to blow, is it?"

"It most certainly will." Steve said as they marched towards the spaceship. "We need to check if there are any survivors."

"And hope that they're friendly." Natasha added.

"Yeah." Steve said in a breathy voice as they slowly approached the spacecraft.

"… _I told you, you couldn't fly this baby."_ They heard a distant voice and glanced at each other, as if silently saying that no matter what it was, they would both face it.

"T _he ship wouldn't have crashed if you had let me do my thing without whining_." Another voice said and a blue alien came into view – one that Natasha was sure she hadn't seen before. The alien was carrying a gun which looked far more deadly than Natasha's glock.

"Drop your weapon." Steve said calmly but Natasha could see a nerve in his face twitching. He was scared. Just as she was.

The blue alien looked at them, her face hardening. "If you know what's best for you, get out of our way."

Natasha looked over at Steve but his eyes were focused on the alien, apparently watching her moves as closely as possible. But then a small furry creature appeared and they both felt a sense of relief wash over them. "Calm down, Nebula. These are the people we're here for."

"Oh, so it's a friendly visit." Natasha said putting down her gun but still keeping it loaded, just in case. "You should have called. I would have made a pie."

"It was a bit rushed, I have to admit." Rocket said also gripping a gun in one of his paws.

"We would have really appreciated if you hadn't destroyed half of the city." Steve said looking much calmer now, as if all the tension left his body.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Mr. Rogers." Another voice said and much to Natasha's surprise a normal-looking woman walked over to them. "And besides, the blue lady over here was driving." The woman said, a smile already forming on her face.

"Say another word and I will cut your tongue off." Nebula – if Natasha remembered correctly – said making it evident that she wasn't fond of the blonde.

"I don't think you would be capable of doing that, unfortunately." The woman said, apparently having fun with the alien's anger. "My name is Carol Danvers." She said looking at Steve and Natasha. "I believe I have been called here and if I understand correctly it is to help with the Thanos situation."

"Well, then." Steve said and for the first time in a long while there was a glint of hope in his eyes. "How about some tea?"

* * *

"So how exactly are you planning on taking down Thanos?" Steve asked, eager to know the plan. He hadn't felt like this for a while, like there was actually some hope left. Like someone still could make things right.

"That's the thing." Carol said with her fingers wrapped around the mug. "All I know is that we have to take back the gauntlet. That's all it comes down to. But first we have to locate him and have enough strength to take him down."

"And who exactly are you?" Natasha asked with a trace of careful hope in her voice. "How would _you_ help?"

Carol took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes for a moment, clearly enjoying the taste. " _God_ , I missed it." She said before looking back at them. "When I was younger I was exposed to some kind of extraterrestrial radiation and it gave me…some extraordinary abilities. I believe they will be useful in the fight."

"Good." Steve said, ready to take action into his own hands.

"So where do we go from here?" Natasha asked.

"What about the genius tech man?" Nebula questioned. "Stark was his name? He would be useful with all his flying suits and technology."

Steve glanced at Natasha worriedly. "He…he's not in a good shape and we're not really on good terms. He refuses to talk to anybody. The e _vent_ has taken a lot of people from him."

Nebula lowered her gaze. "So I've seen."

"Listen, I don't know who this guy is." Rocket spoke up. "But if he's as genius as you claim then maybe the prospect of kicking Thanos' ass will cure his depression."

Steve looked over at the former spy waiting for her opinion. The woman shrugged. "It's worth a try."

"Then we're going to New York, I guess."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you're enjoying the story so far ;)**


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